By Bob Zaltsberg
331-4364 | [email protected]
www.heraldtimesonline.com
Ninth District U.S. Rep. Todd Young and his election opponent, Democrat Shelli Yoder, offer clear differences to voters considering whom to support Nov. 6, and not just in gender and hair color. This is not an endorsement, in which we would suggest which one we believe would be the best choice; but rather, some reflections from editorial board interviews with each candidate in the last couple of weeks. Specific differences and one point of agreement emerged.
Consider how they framed the top issues they’ve been hearing from constituents.
Young said he’s hearing about the economy and jobs, “and what do you intend to do to add them?” Yoder said she’s hearing about wages more than jobs, and how people who are working — often more than one job — are worried about paying their bills.
Young also stressed health care inflation as a top concern.
Yoder also said the deficit is very much on people’s minds.
Young has voted nearly three dozen times to repeal the Affordable Care Act — “Obamacare,” if you prefer. He said Republicans have not been specific enough with “a replace option,” and he came armed with a list of ideas that he believes would better help the nation lower health care costs and expand accessibility to care.
Among his points were allowing health insurance to be purchased across state lines, reforming medical malpractice insurance, expanding the availability of medical savings accounts to push preventive care and supporting ways to make Medicare and Medicaid sustainable, including the Ryan Plan for Medicare reform that would include a system of premium-support payments — vouchers, if you prefer.
Yoder supports almost all of the health care act, and named several people she has met who have benefited from it. She offered contact information for further verification. Many elements of the plan “stick up for families,” and she strongly supports and believes it should be left virtually intact to see what it does for the American people before dismantling it would ever be considered. She believes it will benefit a vast majority of them in caring for themselves and their families.
She did say she agrees with those, including Young, who would repeal the 2.3 percent tax on medical devices. She said that tax would have too heavy an impact on the medical device industry that is so important to her district. She added her support for the $1 million grant, announced this week, to expand training for medical device manufacturing.
On the deficit, Yoder said she would favor both spending cuts (in entitlement programs and other programs that are no longer vital, she said) and raising revenues through, among other things, eliminating Bush tax cuts on incomes over $250,000 and adding a tax bracket for those making more than $1 million.
As a member of the House Budget Committee, Young has stressed setting spending priorities and making reductions when possible. He favors tax reform as well to do away with “too many narrowly defined deductions.”
There are many more clear differences between the two, and voters should inform themselves before they vote. Reader chats with each of them can be found on HeraldTimesOnline.com, and their campaign websites also have extensive position statements on a full range of issues.
Teachers vs. NFL refs
Yoder pointed out how two labor-related issues over the last few weeks have suggested some misplaced priorities.
In offering her support for teachers, she said she was struck that striking teachers in Chicago were generally blasted and told to get back to work, while in the NFL referee labor issue, league officials were generally seen as the bad guys and were told to get the referees back to work.
While one was a strike and the other a lock-out, the point is worth noting — the sanctity of NFL football was laid at the steps of management, while teachers were on the receiving end of much anger, and their managers were given a pass.
Young and Yoder visits highlight differences in congressional race
